**Security Alert: Your Steemit Wallet is Visible to Everyone**

in #steemit7 years ago

As a newbie on steemit, my curiosity continues to push me to explore more on the steemit website, may be i havent read enough about the operations on the steemit platform but i was shocked today when i realised that every steemit account holder can actually view any other account holder's wallet and its easy. Every transaction that has been made on that account becomes visible to everyone.
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Steem, steem power, steem dollars, estimated account value, savings and transactions are all visible just by going to a persons profile and clicking on wallet at the far right. Just like any financial institution, i strongly believe this should be kept private, only to the account holders.

I am unaware if this has ever been written about by anyone on steemit, If it has, then i dare to ask;
What is the rationale behind making everyones wallet public? how come account holders are not informed that their wallet can be viewed by others? is it possible to change some privacy settings to make my wallet private? if there are no privacy settings for this, what is the way forward?
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I need answers? kindly leave a comment with some explanations.

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In simplest terms, each user owns Steemit. As an owner, you can see the transactions that affect the blockchain.

As for privacy, I can see what anyone pays into their Steem Wallet and pays out of it, and to who. I cannot see what you paid for (unless you put it in a memo) and if you transfer it to an exchange (ex blocktrades) I cannot see what you bought on the exchange or what happens to it from there (unless I really want to follow the transaction trail on whatever blockchain you bought currency on).

This is really not uncommon with cryptos in general. I can see any transaction associated with a bitcoin address with little work.

Thanks for the insight.. May be my surprise stems out of the fact that I didn't know this from the beginning. I am confident a lot more people do not know this.

I find that the status quo for TOS and FAQ's is that people don't read them (or just skim the headlines) and agree to anything. This is in part because they are long and boring, and in part because many are pretty much the same.

Steemit is as anonymous as you want to make it. If you're concerned about people seeing your transactions, you can always use one account to "earn" and another account to "spend". If you don't want them to appear linked, you can buy/sell through an exchange.

Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by ppmdapare from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows. Please find us at the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.

If you would like to delegate to the Minnow Support Project you can do so by clicking on the following links: 50SP, 100SP, 250SP, 500SP, 1000SP, 5000SP.
Be sure to leave at least 50SP undelegated on your account.

no veo que sea privado, por el contrario la idea es ser mucho mas social y si quieres saber tus metas en steemit entra aqui amigo https://steemitboard.com/welcome.html y coloca tu usuario

I don't think there any settings that can make it private. I am following this post to find out if there is any way to hide it on my account.

i really hope to get some answers..

You earn based on your contribution of content and participation. When you post something it's there to be seen and then responded to.
In other words you are not just earning by what you do. You are earning by the response to what you have done(up vote, resteem...)
By this extension a simplified argument could be made that the transaction made between the content author and their reader is a mutual one and thus be transparent to both. Same could also be said for the curator and his work.
I know I sound pedantic......sorry about that.
At the end of the day it also makes for a more transparent platform.
(This is not just with steemit. You can get a fair idea of youtube video channel earnings as by using some apps. Although their earning might not be visible but it's wort while to remember that blockchain related tech has a way of doing things.)
Rest assured your wallet is only accessible to you and you alone at all times.
PS: I am not a tech advisor, just a blockchain enthusiast

i do not see anything wrong with people knowing how many upvotes you are getting and for that matter the amount you are making as far as a particular post is concerned. What we see under a post is perfect.. my biggest problem is the fact that every detail of what is in your wallet is made public. This isn't transparency in my opinion. it is simply a breech of privacy

Not necessarily. It's breach only if you didn't agree to it. When I signed up for steem, I took a good look at what I was getting into.
You could always contact them if you have problem. Sorry, this is the best I could do.
Best of luck.

well breach may be a strong word to use, legally, but i still think there should be some limitations to how far people can see into your wallet.
PS: i didn't take time time to read any terms and conditions whiles signing up but is there any portion of it that makes specific reference to a public wallet or anything around that.
thanks for your responses .

interesante tema igual tengo la misma duda!